Russian | Sociology

BY JOE CHO

Asst. Life Editor choyy19@wfu.edu

Hailing from Vicenza, Italy, Kiki Sibilla traveled across the Atlantic pond and found her home at Wake Forest University. Similar to most incoming first-years, Sibilla’s career did not start with a definitive trajectory.

Although Sibilla did not enter Wake Forest intending to major in Russian, she admits that the decision is “the coolest thing I’ve done at Wake.” She is now a double major in politics & international affairs and Russian.

In all of her four years at Wake Forest, Sibilla mentioned that History of Slavic Language with Dr. Hamilton of the German & Russian department was her favorite class. Along with Dr. Hamilton, she also credits Dr. Clark for piquing her interest in Russian.

“Both Dr. Clark and Dr. Hamilton of the Russian department are the coolest people I’ve ever met,” Sibilla said. “Dr. Hamilton is the guy who sits in a lawn chair outside of Greene, smoking a pipe, and has also played with Jerry Garcia in a bluegrass band. And Dr. Clark is super awesome because she really cares about teaching and has also helped me career-wise, as I figured out what to do. Both make the Russian language and culture so exciting. They’re my two favorite professors at Wake.”

Additionally, both Dr. Clark and Dr. Hamilton graciously provided endearing remarks for Kiki.

“I admire her willingness to put herself out there and try different things. She’s always full of a delightful and refreshing enthusiasm for learning for the sake of learning,” Dr. Clark said. “As I worked with her more, I came to appreciate her quirky humor, her warm and empathetic treatment of others, and the look on her face when she would have a sudden insight and fascinating observations that she would offer up to the rest of the class with her characteristic humility and good nature.”

“When I was a kid, my favorite toy was a sort of rounded human doll that you could punch, and no matter how hard or in what direction I would punch, she or he would immediately return to standing position. Guess who that reminds me of?” Dr. Hamilton said.

Sibilla has also completed an independent study with Dr. Stanton on Russian-Jewish literary figures. She and Dr. Stanton analyzed prominent Russian-Jewish literature, including works from the Russian writer Isaac Babel.

Besides from her experiences living in Northern Italy for quite some time, Sibilla has been on a couple of study-abroad trips during her time at Wake Forest.

“The summer of my freshman year, I went to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I would recommend anyone to visit there. The food there is chef’s kiss! The spring semester of my sophomore year, I went to St. Petersburg, Russia. I spent some lovely time in both places studying Russian.”

Outside of the classroom, Kiki Sibilla is a resident advisor (my RA, specifically) and an ROTC cadet. For four days every week, her early mornings are filled with training and sheer determination, a significant and courageous commitment on her part.

“Yeah, caffeine has definitely been my friend,” Sibella laughed.

Sibilla describes her time at Wake Forest to be genuinely unforgettable and attributes her success to many of the great relationships she developed with professors.

“In general, all the professors I’ve had have been super personable and willing to discuss my questions, comments or concerns. Professors here make it less intimidating to approach them,” Sibilla said. “For example, you can ask them, ‘can you help me out with this? I’m having trouble finishing this paper. What are your thoughts?’ I feel like in a much larger school, that relationship doesn’t exist. And if it does, it takes a long time to curate.”

After graduation, Sibilla plans to go to Jerusalem, Israel to study Arabic at Hebrew University for the summer or return to Vincenza, Italy, for an internship. Once October rolls around, Sibilla will be going to Fort Lee, Va., for Army training and will join the Army Reserves. Her long-term goal is to become a humanitarian, following Wake Forest’s Pro-Humanitate motto.

KIKI SIBILLA | RUSSIAN

Photo courtesy of Andy Woehr

FRANTASIA HILL| SOCIOLOGY

BY KATIE FOX

Photography Editor foxkg19@wfu.edu

Coming into college, Frantasia Hill thought she wanted to study something within the sphere of health, but she wasn’t interested in the natural sciences. She explored her options, considering political science, religion, education and more. However, after taking Contemporary Families with Dr. Catherine Harnois, Hill’s interest in sociology was sparked.

“After reading her midterm, I reached out to tell her how impressed I was,” Dr. Harnois recalled.

Another professor, Dr. Saylor Breckenridge, can attest to this level of Hill’s intuition. Breckenridge remembered, “She enrolled in my Social Statistics course as a sophomore, and right away, stood out as someone with keen attention to sociological science and great skill with data analysis.”

After loving the class and the faculty, Hill knew sociology was the major for her.

Hill will graduate with a concentration in the social determinants of health and well-being, which she says is helping her transition to her next phase of life as she will pursue a master’s degree in Public Health at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health with a concentration in health behavior. This perfectly caters to her interests of food insecurity and health inequities, and Hill is excited for her plans to prepare her for whatever future career awaits.

Faculty in the sociology department regard Hill highly, selecting her as a recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Student Award, which is given annually to a sociology major who “embodies excellence in coursework, makes consistent thoughtful contributions to class discussions, and puts sociology into action in extracurricular work,” according to the department website. Outside of the classroom, Hill worked as an undergraduate research assistant with a Wake Forest law professor when she was considering law school, and more recently with Dr. Ana Wahl from the sociology department.

Dr. Hana Brown, one of Hill’s mentors in the sociology department, praised Hill, writing, “Frantasia is an intellectual powerhouse. She is one of those unique students who can see the connections between very different streams of research and who can bridge seemingly disparate fields of study through her own theorizing. On top of her academic excellence, Frantasia is deeply committed to using her talents and energy to shape the public good. She has already accomplished so much in that regard. I’m looking forward to following her very bright future.”

Aside from academics, Hill has dipped her toes into just about everything: BSA, Students for Education Reform, Campus Kitchen, Campus Garden, Sister Circle WFU and First in the Forest. Hill is also a Magnolia Scholar and the chair of a new committee tasked with managing and distributing restitution funds for the Episcopal Student Fellowship. In addition, she started the Student Advisory Committee for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching with fellow senior Cameron Allen.

“[The committee] intends to enhance communication between students and professors,” Hill shared. “Because the committee is working under/ with CAT, it’ll have the potential to influence how professors are trained and how feedback is provided by students for professors.”

Finally, Hill was a Resident Advisor her junior and senior year, and was named an Outstanding RA last year.

While Hill considers declaring her Sociology major as the best decision she made at Wake Forest, studying abroad comes in at a close second.

“[Going abroad] turned out to be literally the best experiences of my life, especially Wake Washington,” she said.

Although her Spring 2020 in DC got cut short by the pandemic, Hill described it as the most impactful experience of her time in college. She worked a full-time job as the Children, Youth & Families Intern at the Human Rights Campaign and attending political science classes at night.

Hill’s time as a Demon Deacon prepared her well for her future plans, and she’s very appreciative of the unique opportunities she’s had over the course of her four years. Hill’s “keen sociological mind, exceptional analytic abilities and outstanding writing skills,” even as a first-year student, blew Dr. Harnois away, and the sociology faculty are proud to have her represent the department as she goes on to pursue her Master’s at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.